Miss Emily Dear Analysis

According to the narrator, the town of Jefferson views Miss Emily as dear, inescapable, impervious and tranquil. A common definition for “dear” is loved or beloved. I am not very convinced that this is the meaning that Faulkner had in mind when describing Miss Emily. However she was an icon of the town, and well known. Due to Miss Emily’s history with the town the town people do a have a found respect for her. Dear can also mean important which would fit because she and her past have always been an important part of the town’s history. Another definition of dear is appealing or pretty. This is ironic because as Miss Emily ages she becomes the opposite. She is described as looking “bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water”; making
This word means just what it sounds like. Literally, Miss Emily doesn’t even ever leave, or “escape”, her house and is rarely seen out in public. This goes along with her being described as a recluse. The Board of Aldermen sees her as an inescapable problem because she refuses to pay the taxes. The town feels as if they are inescapable from her because she unconsciously does things that draw attention to her. She refuses to pay her taxes; she leaves dead bodies in the house, which makes a putrid smell emerge, and creates a distress among the town people. The town people in turn, must find ways to cover up the smell and sneakily go and cover it up in the late hours of the night. “Impervious”, is another word used to explain Miss Emily’s behavior. The definition “incapable of being influenced, persuaded or affected”, applies specifically to this story. Miss Emily is extremely stubborn. She refuses to pay her taxes even after the Board of Aldermen’s best efforts to persuade her to pay them. They send notices, hand written letters and even a deputation to her house. She simply refuses. She is unaffected by the people of the town and lives individually for the majority of her